Chapter 592: Khanna's Information

We were still in the camp, not at the meeting point with Lovren, after being asked by Weena Rhyn to investigate the cause of the anomaly again.

It was also because we wanted to greet Charon and the others.

At Weena Rhyn’s request, Fran has been relieved from her duty as an instructor for Charon and her group. But because we were so overwhelmed by Weena Rhyn before, we went out to investigate without even saying something to them.

Fran was concerned that she hadn’t said anything to Charon and Khanna. They didn’t seem to be the kind of girls who would blame her for that, but she wanted to at least greet them.

We went straight to the tents for the students. There, we found Charon’s group and Charles, the adventurer. In addition, there was also an instructor we knew with them. It seemed that he had taken Fran’s role as Charon group’s escort.

Apparently, they were on their way to take on a request. However, when they saw Fran, they greeted her with a smile.

「Fran! You have returned?」

「Nn. I didn’t get a chance to say something to Charon and the other before because of the job Weena Rhyn had asked me to do」

「So you came all this way to greet us? Thank you very much. But I heard that you were investigating the anomaly in the lake, so we won’t blame you」

It seems that they understand the weight of Weena Rhyn’s direct request. In addition, Charon and the others, who were born in this country, seemed to be interested in the anomaly of the lake, and they asked her a lot of questions about it.

Fran told Charon and the others that it was very likely that the Modoki were aiming for the Scarlet Waterweed Medicine, and advised them to check for Scarlet Waterweed around them when approaching the lake’s shore.

Oh, we had Weena Rhyn’s permission to tell them about it, so it should be okay.

But we told Charon and the others not to spread the word, citing the fact that we were still investigating. She told them that it was also Weena Rhyn’s order, so they wouldn’t dare to spread the word.

We were almost certain that it was true, but it was still unconfirmed. Weena Rhyn also feared that if this information spread, it might cause widespread panic among the people, and Kangaroo Courts could be rampant.

(Note: Kangaroo Court: an unofficial court held by a group of people to try someone regarded, especially without good evidence, as guilty of a crime or misdemeanor)

There was no doubt that some sort of witch hunt would even take place if that ever happens.

With that in mind, it would be bad for rumors to spread at this stage.

First of all, we needed to confirm whether or not the Modoki were really after the Scarlet Waterweed medicine. Well, Weena Rhyn will be the one to look into that though, so we were going to head to the Commercial Fleet with Lovren as planned.

Charon and the others looked worried. If the cure for the endemic disease was being targeted by the magic beasts, then the people of this country would surely be concerned about it.

In the midst of all this, Khanna was reacting in a somewhat unusual way. She seemed to be more surprised than anxious.

「Khanna?」

「Ah, no…」

Fran became curious and called out to Khanna.

「What’s wrong?」

「…Fran-san, may I have a moment?」

Then Khanna looked at Fran with a somewhat serious look. She took Fran’s hand and moved away from everyone.

「…Actually, I have some information that might be useful for you」

「About the lake anomaly?」

「I’m not sure if it will lead to that yet… but you can look into it yourself. I would like to share this information only with Fran-san if possible, as I was able to get this information through my parent’s contacts」

When Khanna said so, Charon seemed to understand and distanced herself. The other group members also followed Charon’s lead.

If it was a message from a nobleman or a trading company, it might contain a lot of important information. Being a noble herself, Charon probably understood that it was better if they didn’t listen to it.

「So?」

「This information is about the Scarlet Waterweed medicine」

Khanna’s said that she had been investigating the Scarlet Waterweed and the medicines that use them since she arrived in this country. She had been gathering information on everything from prices and raw materials to efficiency while traveling.

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「Why?」

「I was thinking that I could use it as a commercial product」

In this country, Scarlet Waterweed was only recognized as a raw material for special medicine for endemic diseases. However, it was still a material to make magic potions. Depending on the research, it could be used in various ways.

Apparently, Khanna thought it would be a shame if she couldn’t purchase the Scarlet Waterweeds and sell them outside the country. As expected of the daughter of a trading company owner.

However, it seemed to be quite difficult. Even though it was not life-threatening, a disease was a disease. Scarlet Waterweed was the raw material for the cure, and it was still impossible to cultivate, so it was practically impossible to sell outside the country.

It was not that they were prohibited. However, many citizens tended to be reluctant to ship large quantities of it out of the country. Merchants were not an exception. After all, they were reluctant to export Scarlet Waterweed in case they ran out of the special medicine in case of emergency.

And if there was a shortage because of her doing, it would make it harder for her to live in this country.

「Still, I was looking for some way to do something about it, and I did a lot of research… But at some point, I got a hunch that something wasn’t right」

「What do you mean?」

「Even though it is impossible to export in large quantities, it is not so difficult to buy in small quantities. So, I decided to start by buying them from various places and send them to my home」

She also said that the reason why she bought it from various places was to study the differences in the growing areas. Otherwise, she would not have been able to collect the necessary amount for her research.

However, Khanna suddenly noticed the difference in prices. Normally, in the area near the lake where most of the plants could be collected the price should be cheaper, and the further away from the lake, the more expensive it should be. However, the Scarlet Waterweed was actually the most expensive around the lake and was sold at the same price around the Academy of Magic.

And the reason for the skyrocketing price was said to be the increase in the number of patients in the eastern region…

「But actually, there has been no increase in the number of patients」

「…Really?」

「Yes. By using my family’s contacts, I checked the number of endemic cases in each city in the Kingdom of Belios. And they said that they’re all the same as usual」

But they were actually experiencing a shortage of Scarlet Waterweed medicine, right?

「So where do you think the Scarlet Waterweed medicines that were supposed to be sold domestically disappear to?」

「You know that too?」

「The distribution of the Scarlet Waterweed potion is quite strange and is almost monopolized by a certain trading company that has signed a contract with the workshop that succeeded in developing it. And that trading company is actually connected to the Kingdom of Raidos from behind the scenes」

「!!」

Seriously? So, the reason behind this anomaly is actually because the Raidos Kingdom is doing something behind the scenes?

「We don’t know what’s going on yet. However, around the same time as the lake’s anomaly, a new special medicine has been developed, and the shadow of the Kingdom of Raidos is flickering in its wake… Furthermore, there are signs that the information is being manipulated by someone. And if one doesn’t check very carefully, one may not realize that the increase in endemic cases may be false information 」

Was the merchant association involved in this incident? Or was there some kind of conspiracy behind it? It was suddenly starting to smell fishy.

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